Table concentrator



Aug, 19

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A TTORNE) Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNlTED STATES ALBERT H. STEBIBINS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

TABLE CONCENTRATOR.

Application filed May 2,

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. STEBBINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented an Improvement in Table Concentrators, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on thedrawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to concentrators of the table type for the separation of ores and other materials in accordance with their dif ferences in specific gravity.

Most metals or values have a higher specific gravity than the accompanying impurities, and the values are commonly distributed throughout a relatively large amount of impurities or foreign matter so thatv it is usually necessary to treat a large amount of material as compared with the amount of values obtained therefrom.

Concentrator tables heretofore used are commonly provided with a deck surface over which the materials to be treated are passed, and riiiles are disposed over the surface of the deck to direct the heavier materials along the rifiles while the lighter materials are crowded upwardly. to pass over the sides of the riifles.

Air is usually passed upwardly through the deck surface to promote classification of the materials, and movement is imparted to the deck surface to promote travel of the materials along the same. As the materials travel along the deck surface the lighter materials will pass over the top of the riflles while the heavier materials will travel along the rifiles, and it is found that the separation of the materials is expedited by directing the materials against a concentrate wall at the upper side of the deck so that they pile up against the buffer plates and then fall away from the upper side of the deck over several riflles to promote recleaning.

Other things being equal, a long narrow deck is desirable because of thelarge number of riffies upon the deck throughout its length which serve to treat the materials over and over. 'In cases where a wide deck is provided, a number of the riifies extending over the deck will be comparatively long, and as a result the materials that travel along the long riffies will not reach the concentrate wall for retreatment as 1922. Serial No. 557,947.

promptly as desired. In other words, it is desirable to bring the materials traveling along the riflies into-prompt engagement with the concentrate wall to expedite concentration of the materials, and this cannot be accomplished when the riflles are unduly long.

Having the above matters in mind, one important feature of the present invention resides in a concentrator table provided with a pair of relatively narrow decks which together have the capacity for receiving materials to be treated of a much wider single deck, while the two narrow decks avoid the unduly long rifiies incident to a wide deck.

Another feature of the present invention resides in a concentrator having a pair of decks mounted upon a single frame and adapted to treat either the same or different materials.

Another feature of the invention resides in novel means for imparting movement to the .deck or decks to advance materials over the surface thereof.

Other features of the invention and novel combinations of parts in addition to the above will be hereinafter described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate one good practical form thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a concentrator table embodying the present invention, the deck covers being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the apertured surface channels;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a detail to be described;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of portion of the deck supporting carriage;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side view of parts shown i Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view through one of.

the operating shafts and taken on line 88 of Fig. 7 and r Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a part to be described.

In the drawings, the concentrator table is shown as comprising a frame 10 adapted movably to support a carriage 11 upon which the decks l2 and 13 are mounted; and although the present machine is designed more particularly to support and operate a pair of decks, various features of the present invention are well adapted for a concentrator table having only one deck.

The deck supporting carriage 11 may be variously supported by the frame 10, and in the construction shown, shafts 14 are provided journaled in uprights 15 of the frame and extending transversely between the uprights. The number of shafts provided may vary with the length of decks to be supported, and in the present case three shafts 14 are shown, and the carriage l1 rests upon these shafts.

It is desirable to impart movement to the decks 12 and 13 which will effect travel of the materials over the surfaces of the decks,

and to this end, in the present case, the shafts (Fig. 7) and upon which a plate 21 of the carriage l1 rests for rolling movementas the shafts are rotated. The collars 20 are provided with bolt holes which enable them to be rotated to a new position when worn.

It is desirable to provide means which will positively impart the movement of the shafts to the carriage, and to this end, straps 22 and 23 are provided which extend about the shafts in opposite directions, and each strap has one end firmly anchored to the carriage and the other end anchored to the shaft. The anchoring means may consistof plates 24 and 25 engaging the straps and firmly bolted to the carriage and shafts respectively. The arrangement is such that as the shafts 14 rotate in one direction they wind up one strap and unwind the other strap. The straps 22 and 23 preferably wind about sleeves 26 upon the shafts, and the space between the sleeves 26 and plate 21 of the carriage preferably is such that the carriage will rest upon the straps so that a substantial portion of its weight is carried by the straps. This increases the frictional engagement between the carriage and straps and assists in imparting the movement of the rocking shafts to the carriage.

The carriage 11 in the present case consists of longitudinally extending rails 27 and 28 secured to the plates 21, and the decks 12 and 13 are mounted upon these rails.

The decks 12 and 13 may be the same in construction and may be adapted for the same class of work, or one deck may be constructed to handle coarse materials and the other fine materials. The decks shown are relatively long and narrow and are mounted upon the carriage at a lateral inclination. One side of each deck preferably is hinged at 29 to an upstanding flange of a rail 27 and the other side of each deck is supported I riflles 31 preferably terminate ashort distance from the upper side of the deck so that the materials reaching this upper side may pass from one rilfle to the next, and a wall 32 at this side of the deck and called a concentrate wall, prevents the materials from'escaping over the side of the deck. The concentrate wall 32 may have buffer blocks 33 to cause the materials topile up at 'the end of a rifile and fall back into engagement with other rilfles. I

The deck surface is provided wth apertures to permit the passage of air upwardly therethrough and through the materials thereupon, and the deck surface in the present case is constructed of apertured surface channels 34 (see Fig. 3) which are U-shaped in cross-section and are provided with upstanding sides that form the riflles 31. The surface channels 34 may be formed of relatively thin sheet metal and are disposed side by side to form the deck surface. A deck surface constructed of surface channels as in the present case is practically free from objectionable local vibrations and possesses other advantages, and each aperture of the surface preferably is provided with an up wardly inclined lip 35 that directs the air as it leaves the aperture.

Each deck has an air chamber 36 below the deck surface and this chamber may be divided longitudinally by partitions 37. Fans 38 for the respective decks and driven from a common shaft supply airto the chambers 36 under pressure, and since the decks move back and forth relatively to the fans, a flexible connection 39 is provided between each fan and the correspondingdeck.

The materials to be treated are fed to the decks by the hoppers 40 and the movement imparted to the decks advances the materials lengthwise thereof. Covers 41 extending over the decks serve to confine the air passing upwardly through the materials, and the air is led from the decks by conduits 42.

As stated, the decks are supported at a transverse inclination as shown in Fig. 7 and the riflies 31 serve to direct the heavier materials toward the concentrate walls 32 at the upper side. of the decks. The lighter materials that pile up above the height of the riiHes will flow, due to the inclination of the deck, toward the lower side of the deck and will escape therefrom over the discharge plate 43. The concentrates that reach the concentrate wall 32 will travel along this wall toward the discharge end of the deck, and the concentrates may be removed from the deck at intervals along the same through gates 44 that discharge into the trough 45, while the end rifiles 31 discharge into receptacles 46.

The movement imparted to the deck should advance the materials lengthwise thereof, and the present means for operating the shaft 14 to this end will now be described. One of the shafts 14 is provided with a projectin arm 47 having a roller 48 that is engage by a rotating cam 49, the arrangement being such that the cam serves to rock the arm 47 in one direction in opposition to the pull of a spring 50. As the cam passes out of engagement with the roller 48 the arm is returned by the spring 50 to its; normal position and strikes against an abutment 51. This suddenly arrests the movement of the carriage 11 and decks thereupon with the result that the materials are slid forward slightly over the deck surface. The cam 50 is mounted upon and operated by a shaft 52 journaled in uprights 53, and the abutment 51 is supported by a stand 54. In the present construction two of the shafts 14 are provided with arms 47 that cooperate with abutments 51 while only one operating cam.

is provided, but this may be varied as de sired. The abutment 51 may be in the form of a thick rubber tube or block which will yield somewhat under the blow of the arm 47, and a wooden block 55 upon the arm 47 is provided to engage the abutment 51.

In a table concentrator of the type to which the present invention relates, employing inclined riffies for directing the heavier materials against a concentrate wall, the angle of the rifiles should bear a definite relation to the direction in which the deck extends. and if this angle is increased substantially it will arrest the progress of the values along the rifiles without directing the value against the concentrate wall, and if the angle is decreased materially the number of the riflles is correspondingly deceased while the length of the rifiies is increased, which is undesirable. F 'urthermore, if it is attempted to increase the capacity of the concentrator deck by increasing its width, then the materials near the lower side of the deck are required to travel too great a distance along the inclined rifiles before they reach the concentrate wall for r'etreatment. Due to these conditions which are met with in using concentrate tables, it has been impractical to increase the capacity of a concentrator table by increasing the width of the deck a substantial amount, and heretofore when a single concentrator table having a capacity which is restricted by the conditions above mentioned, would not treat the required amount of material, it has been necessary to install additional table concentrators at considerable expense.

In accordance with the present invention, the capacity of a concentrator table may be materially increased by providing a single concentrator frame with a pair of decks. By this expedient a concentrator table having the capacity of a very wide deck is provided while the objectionable features of a wide deck are avoided, and by providing a pair of decks upon a single operating frame, so that one frame operates two decks, the cost of producing this novel concentrator is much less than the cost of producing two separate and distinct table concentrators each consist-ing of a deck and an operating frame.

As a result of the present invention, one

frame and operating mechanism takes care of two independent decks upon which the same or difi'erent materials may be treated, and the combined capacity of the two narrow decks may equal that of a single wide deck, while the two decks will provide approximately twice the number of rifiies as the single deck, which is highly desirable.

What is claimed is:

1. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a pair of separate long narrow decks independently mounted upon said frame in spaced substantially parallel relation, means for supporting the decks at a transverse inclination, each deck having a stepped concentrate wall extending along its upper side and rililes extending diagonally across the deck to di rect the heavier materials against the concentrate wall for retreatment, and means for vibrating the deck to promote travel blocks disposed along. the concentrate wall.

to promote piling up of the heavier materials at the ends of the riftles, and means for effecting travel of the materials along the decks, the supporting frame and decks constituting a concentrator table havin the capacity of a single wide deck while affording substantially twice the number of riflies as a single deck.

3. A -concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a pair of separate and independent long narrow decks mounted upon the frame in substantially parallel relation, means for supporting the decks at a transverse inclination and for adjusting them to different transverse inclinations, each deck having a stepped concentrate Wall extending along its upper side and riflles extending diagonally across the deck to direct the heavier materials against the concentrate wall for retreatment, and means for advancing materials lengthwise of the decks, the supporting frame and pair of' decks constituting a concentrator table having the capacity of a wide deck while avoiding the use of long inclined riflles incident to a wide deck.

4. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a pair of separate long narrow decks mounted upon the frame side by side, means for supporting the decks at transverse inclinations that slope away from each other, each deckhaving a stepped concentrate wall extending along its upper side and riffies extending diagonally across the deck to direct the heavier materials against the concentrate wall for retreatment, means for delivering air to the deck under pressure, and means for vibrating the decks to promote travel of materials lengthwise of the deck,.the supporting frame and pair of decks constituting a concentrator table having the capacity of a wide deck While avoiding the use of long rifiles incident to a wide deck.

5. A concentrator table comprising in combination a supporting frame, a deck supporting carriage movably mounted upon said frame, a pair of decks mounted upon said carriage, and means for imparting movement to the carriage and decks including a rotating shaft, and straps Wound around the shaft and operable to exert a back and forth pull upon the carriage as having a deck thereupon,a frame provided with means for movably supporting the carriage, and means for impartin movement to the carriage and deck, inclu ing a rotating shaft, and straps connected to the carriage and shaft to be wound about the latter as the shaft is rotated and exert an operating pull upon the carriage.

7. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a deck, a frame provided with rotating shafts for movably supportin the deck, and straps wound around the s lafts and operable to exert a back and forth pull upon the deck as the shafts are rotated to wind and unwind the straps.

8. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a deck supporting frame, a deck movably mounted upon the frame, a shaft provided with means for rotating the same back and forth, and straps wound around the shaft and connected to the deck to exert a back and forth pull upon the deck as the shaft is rotated.

9. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a deck supporting frame, a deck movably mounted upon the frame, a shaft provided with means for rotating the same back and forth, and straps interposed between the deck and shaft to provide frictional operating engagement between the shaft and deck, and said straps being wound around the shaft and operable to exert a back and forth pull upon the deck as the shaft is rotated to wind and unwind the straps.

10. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a deck-supporting carriage, a deck upon the carriage, a frame provided with rollers arranged at intervals lengthwise of the frame and having the carriage resting thereupon, means for positively imparting movement from the different rollers to the carriage, arms connected to the rollers to rock them back and forth, and a link operatively connecting the arms for imparting rocking movement to the different rollers.

11. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a deck-supporting frame, a deck supported thereby, and means for imparting movement to the deck to advance materials over the deck surface, comprising rollers for supporting the deck'and rolling the same back and. forth, a rocking arm operatively secured to said rollers to rotate the same and having means for positively moving the arm in one direction and yieldingly moving it in the opposite direction, and a yielding abutment for arresting the movement of the arm in one direction.

12. A concentrator table comprising, in combination, a deck-supporting frame, a deck supported thereby, and means for imparting movement to the deck t6 advance materials over the deck surface, comprising a rocking arm operatively connected to the deck and a yielding abutment against which the arm normally rests, and means for forcing the arm away from the" abutment and then release it to strike against the yielding abutment 13. A concentrator table comprising in combination, a supporting frame, a palr of relatively long narrow decks mounted side by side upon said frame, each deck having a material receiving surface formed or mdividual long narrow apertured surfacechannels trough-shaped in cross-section and secured side by side diagonally across the deck to form a light non-vibratory deck surface provided with riffles formed by the upstanding sides of the surface channels, and means for advancing materials lengthwise of the deck.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 20 name to this specification. 

